In a recent radio interview, former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera said he was looking forward to retirement because there were so many things he wanted to do besides play baseball -- like God's work, he said.

Rivera has been building a church in his native Dominican Republic, and this week, he added a crumbling 107-year-old church in New Rochelle, N.Y., to his long list of saves, according to a report by The Associated Press.

Quietly, Rivera's foundation provided roughly $3 million to restore the foundation for Refugio de Esperanza, or Refuge of Hope, the Pentecostal Christian congregation led by his wife, Clara. Residents said they didn't even know he was involved in the project.

"The baseball field is one thing. We won championships," Rivera said Thursday after the dedication of the church, located a few miles from Yankee Stadium. "But this is totally on another level. This is to hopefully bring families closer to the Lord. Changing people's lives, that's what counts."

Rivera's home had been serving as the meeting place for the congregation, and the church, vacant since the 1970's, was being used by the local police department (located next door) as an evidence storage facility.

The city had taken over the building, but sold it to Rivera for $1 because it had become a drain on the treasury. While some believed the city should have tried to get more for the property, the quick work has silenced most of the original critics.

"It was in bad shape, but I saw a beauty beyond that," Rivera said. "God gave us the inspiration and the desire to really renovate it and make it the thing it is. It wasn't me. It was the Lord."

Said former councilman Joe Fosina, a longtime friend of Rivera: "To come so far so quickly, it's amazing."